Run by The Trentonian's Nick Peruffo, this blog will provide daily multimedia coverage of the Trenton Thunder.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Joseph up, Sublett returns

READING, Pa. — There were a couple of additions before yesterday’s doubleheader with the Reading Phillies, one old face and one new face.

Corban Joseph, a second baseman who was hitting .302 with High-A Tampa before his promotion yesterday, came up to replace Brandon Laird. The Thunder’s cleanup man was bumped to Triple-A after tearing up the Eastern League for the better part of four months.

Joseph, whose brother, Caleb, is a catcher with the Bowie Baysox, will primarily hit third with the Thunder. And while he won’t provide the same power production as Laird did, he’s certainly no slouch with the bat.

David Adams, the Thunder’s original starting second baseman, has been on the shelf since May 20 with a sprained ankle and broken foot, so it came as a bit of surprise that Joseph wasn’t given the call a little sooner.

“Considering my age and where I was at in the organization, I wish I would have gotten called up sooner,“ Joseph, the organization’s No. 13 prospect, as ranked by Baseball America, said. “You can’t really control a lot of stuff (like that). I tried to come out every day and play to the best of my ability.“

Also back yesterday was outfielder Damon Sublett, who has been on the disabled list since April 27 with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. To make room on the roster, Edwar Gonzalez was placed on the 7-day disabled list.

While the diagnosis appeared grim at first, he always thought he would be back this season.

“I didn’t think I was done for the year,“ Sublett said. “I didn’t know when I was going to be back, but I definitely didn’t think I was done.”

He finished up his stint in the Gulf Coast League on Saturday, and was scheduled to make his return with the Thunder in the second game yesterday. Still, with Austin Krum, Justin Christian and Dan Brewer all firmly entrenched in the lineup, finding at-bats for Sublett could prove troublesome.

“The only thing we can do is get him in there the best we can,“ manager Tony Franklin said. “We’ll do the best we can.“

NOTES: Franklin was suspended for two games for repeatedly bumping umpire Jon Byrne on Sunday. He served both as a part of the doubleheader.